Present system 1

Present indicative
·2·
Imagine moving from left to right in our imaginary box representing the
Spanish macrosystem. The first microsystem is the box on the extreme left,
labeled the present system. You can find that box represented by the first
column in TurboVerb. Examining that column, you will discover that
there are three members of the present system: the present indicative, the
present subjunctive, and the imperative (or command forms). Although this
chapter is dedicated to the present indicative only, all the information you
need to derive any verb form in the three moods of the present system is
found in this column (except, as noted in Chapter 1, for dar, estar, haber,
ir, saber, and ser).
To help you navigate through future chapters, a bit of terminology is
important at this point: Tense refers to the time of action—in this case, the
present. In Spanish, the word for tense is tiempo, which is much more lit-
eral than the English term. For instance, a command can take place at no
other time but in the present. Th ink of mood as referring to the function a
verb form has—the way it is used or its mode of operation. As its name
suggests, the indicative mood indicates; that is, it points out or declares
information about an action. For the purposes of this chapter, this is all
you need to know about the concept of mood.
Logically, if there is such a thing as an irregular verb, there must be
some pattern it deviates from, something that defines what regular is. So,
in order to understand irregular verbs, you have to be sure that you know
what regular verbs look like. Let’s review the regular pattern for -ar, -er,
and -ir verbs in the present indicative. The traditional model verbs for
these three families are hablar, comer, and vivir because they are regular
in all tenses and moods. As we examine all the tenses throughout the book,
we will start by taking a look at how these three verbs are conjugated. Let’s
examine the present indicative forms of these model verbs:
hablo hablamos como comemos vivo vivimos
hablas habláis comes coméis vives vivís
habla hablan come comen vive viven

Next, it is important to learn some predictable patterns in this tense

and mood. Compare the various personal endings in all three families of

7
 verbs. Notice that, in the present indicative, the first-person singular form (yo) ends in an
-o. The first-person plural form (nosotros and nosotras) ends with the personal ending
-mos, while the third-person plural (ellos, ellas, and ustedes) ends with -n. Note that in all
tenses and moods the -mos and -n endings are the identifying markers for these two per-
sons and numbers—even for irregular verbs! The endings of the other persons and num-
bers are not so consistent.
Now, having seen what regular verbs look like in the present indicative, we can turn
our attention to the various irregular patterns in this tense and mood. One oddity is that
in the present indicative of regular -ir verbs, the theme vowel of the infinitive, i, is changed
to an e—except for the first- and second-person plurals (the nosotros and vosotros forms).
This pattern gives the appearance of a shoe or boot if you enclose the remaining forms by
drawing a line around them.

tengo tenemos

tienes tenéis

tiene tienen

Even though we refer to the shoe or boot pattern in the context of irregular stem patterns,
this particular feature is regular with regard to the ending vowels in -ir verbs.
It is precisely the other changes that can happen in the stem or root of the verb—the
part before the -ar, -er, and -ir—that make verbs irregular. These are called stem changes.
Fortunately, even the irregularities fall into patterns and groups. There are six possible
ways in which verbs can be irregular in the present tense. In summary form they are:
1. Single vowel to diphthong: o → ue, in a shoe or boot pattern
2. Single vowel to diphthong: e → ie, in a shoe or boot pattern (as in the figure
above)
3. Single vowel to single vowel: e → i, in a shoe or boot pattern
4. Consonant change in the first-person singular only: c → zc

8 practice makes perfect Spanish Irregular Verbs Up Close

 5. Consonant change in the first-person singular without any vowel change in that
person and number (yo form) and a single vowel to diphthong change in the
remainder of the shoe or boot pattern: g, ie
6. Consonant change in the first-person singular and a single vowel to single vowel
change in the remainder of the shoe or boot pattern: g, i
By far the most frequent irregular patterns found in the present system are when the
vowel changes into a diphthong, as in Types 1 and 2 in the preceding list. Another valuable
bit of information about all stem-change irregularities is that the syllable of the change is
the one that is stressed, that is, it’s the syllable pronounced more forcefully than the others.
This fact will help you speak Spanish better, so as you examine the following present indic-
ative examples of these high-frequency types, pay particular attention to the shoe or boot
pattern:
puedo podemos
puedes podéis
puede pueden

pienso pensamos
piensas pensáis
piensa piensan

Other examples of the less numerous Type 1 irregular, but nonetheless high-frequency,
verbs include duermo, duermes (dormir) and muero, mueres (morir). They also
exhibit this stem-vowel irregularity in the shoe or boot pattern. Other Type 2 verbs
include entiendo, entiendes (entender); quiero, quieres (querer); and miento,
mientes (mentir).

Next, there are a handful of high-frequency Type 3 verbs, such as sirvo, sirves (ser-
vir); pido, pides (pedir); and recibo, recibes (recibir). Once again, this stem-vowel irregu-
larity is also found in the shoe or boot pattern. It is worth pointing out that the single
vowel to single vowel irregularity is also found in the preterit system in these same verbs;
however, this irregularity will not exhibit the same pattern as in the present system.
Another common irregular pattern is Type 4, when a verb shows some consonant
change in the first-person singular only. The rest of the persons and numbers are regular.
Some examples include verbs whose infinitives end in -ecer: parezco, pareces (parecer), as
well as verbs whose infinitives end in -ucir: traduzco, traduces (traducir) and conduzco,
conduces (conducir). Also in this group are many, but not all, verbs often called “g-stems,”
such as salgo, sales (salir) and pongo, pones (poner). In the present indicative, this irregu-
larity appears only in the yo form.

Present system 1: Present indicative 9

 conozco conocemos
conoces conocéis
conoce conocen

pongo ponemos
pones ponéis
pone ponen

The verb used as a model in TurboVerb, tengo, tienes (tener), is an example of Type
5 of irregularity in the present system. Another common Type 5 verb is venir. It is a g-stem
verb, but it additionally exhibits a consonant change in the first-person singular and a
single vowel to diphthong change in the rest of its conjugation, following the shoe or boot
pattern in the present indicative:
vengo venimos
vienes venís
viene vienen

Lastly, the Type 6 pattern is found in the high-frequency verb decir and its com-
pounds. Note that in the indicative mood the g-stem is found in the yo form of the present,
and the e → i irregularity follows the shoe or boot pattern, as shown:
digo decimos
dices decís
dice dicen

The two exercises in this chapter focus exclusively on the irregular verbs of the pres-
ent indicative. The second set also adds the challenge of using other elements to construct
grammatical sentences. Remember to identify the subject of each verb so that you select
the correct set of endings while paying attention to the first two principal parts so that you
can identify the irregular patterns.

EJERCICIO

2·1
Fill in the blanks with the proper form of the verbs in parentheses, using the
present indicative. In the case of reflexives, don’t forget to include the proper
form of the pronoun in the blank.

1. (poder) Los niños vestirse solos.

2. (ser) Tú un estudiante muy talentoso.

10 practice makes perfect Spanish Irregular Verbs Up Close

 3. (decir) Yo siempre la verdad.
4. (querer) Ella invitarlo a la fiesta.
5. (huir) Yo de los engaños del mundo.
6. (estar) Él en clase.
7. (ponerse) Yo el impermeable si llueve.
8. (ir) Tú y yo de compras mañana.
9. (conducir) Yo con cuidado en la ciudad.
10. (saber) ¿Qué yo de eso?
11. (perder) Los niños la carrera.
12. (parecerse) Juana, es obvio que tú a tu mamá.
13. (sentirse) Ellos mal hoy por lo de ayer.
14. (sentarse) Yo en esta silla, gracias.
15. (aborrecer) Yo los cuentos de aparecidos.
16. (pedir) Ella nos un favor.
17. (pensar) Ellos que es ridículo comprar billetes de lotería.
18. (servir) Los meseros me el pescado ahora.
19. (caerse) La niña en la acera de vez en cuando.
20. (volar) El avión a San Francisco todos los días.
25. (entender) Parece que hoy hay menos que la evolución que
hace veinte años.
26. (construir) En mi ciudad, hay muchos hombres que rascacielos.
27. (oír) Perdóname, pero yo no bien.
28. (dormir) ¿ tú ocho horas todos los días?
29. (hervir) El agua cuando la temperatura alcanza los 100°C.
30. (traducir) Yo documentos científicos todos los días.

Present system 1: Present indicative 11

 EJERCICIO

2·2
Dehydrated sentences. Use the following elements, making whatever
additions and changes necessary, to create grammatically correct sentences in
the present indicative.

1. ella/siempre/mentir/novio

2. yo/dar/clases/inglés/extranjeros

3. ella/conducir/loca

4. yo/salir/clase/temprano

5. ellas/venir/Los Ángeles

6. yo/tener/jugar/con/hija

7. yo/poder/jugar/tenis

8. ella/venir/Colombia

9. Ud./poder/manejar/carro

10. ellos/saber/tocar/piano

11. yo/hacer/dibujos/cuaderno

12. tú/entender/discurso/político

12 practice makes perfect Spanish Irregular Verbs Up Close

13. nosotros/dormirse/diez/todas/noches

14. yo/poner/disco

15. tú/querer/estudiar/Chile

16. mis hermanos/pensar/tú/tener razón

17. ellos/pensar/viajar/Rapa Nui/verano

18. mi amigo/saber/yo/decir/verdad

19. yo/no saber/hablar/chino

20. tú/querer/mudarse/Puerto Rico

21. yo/saber/tú/saber/verdad

22. Juan/parecerse/su hermano

23. yo/conocer/su hermana

24. ella/encender/luz

25. Ud./ser/científico importante

26. tú/traducir/documentos/contabilidad

Present system 1: Present indicative 13